Printing-press



E, T. WATERS; PRINTING PRESS; APPLICATION FILED in. 24. 1919.

Patented Nov. 23, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1- WWW 0 7 61mm, l

E; T. WATERS.

HRRJNTING PRESS. APPuqAnou FILED FEB. 24. I919.

1,360,063. Patented Nov. 23, 1920.

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Evin-mas E. T. WATERS.

PRINTING PRESS.

APPLICATION HLED FEB- 24, |9|9- 1,360,063. Patented Nov. 23, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- u w. v v

.E. T. WATERS.

PRINTING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB- 24. [919.

1,360,063. Patented Nov. 23,1920.

- WWMM UNITED; STATES PATENT OFFICE. I

EDWARD T. WATERS, OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA..

, PRINTING-PRESS.

Application filed February 24,. 1919. Serial No. 279,01

1 all (Mom if may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD T. Wlrrnns, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Printing- Presses, of which the following is a specification.

7 My invention relates to print ng presses of the general class in wh1ch there is employed an oscillating bed and platen which move alternately into contacting or 1mpression position and to a separated position at which thesheets to be pr1nted are fed to and removed from the platen, and the pr nting form inked. It is the principal ob ect of my invention to provide in a press of this class a platenhaving a curved or cyllndro-segmental facearrangedto make rolling contact with the flat face of the form carried by the bed, whereby successive portions of the printed impression are produced serially. By this mode of operation -.a suitable vprinting pressure between, the bed and platen may be attained with considerably less power, the weight of the press as a whole for a given size of platen greatly reduced, the speed of operation made greater, and a more satisfactory impression obtained, than in presses'employing a flat platen and bed, wherein the impression is made slmultaneously over the entire printed surface.

it further object of my inven.tion is to provide in a press of this character simple and efficient actuating and controlling means for the oscillating bed and platen, whereby I movement of the bed tangentially of the curvedplaten face is reduced to a minimum, while the platen has no movement except that of oscillation about a fixed axis. Fun ther objects of my invention are-to provide, in a press having the foregoing characteristics, means for inking the form, means for ripping the sheets, upon the. platen, and

(7' throw-off means-for preventing an 1mpres-.

sion when necessary during running of the press, all of said means conformlng closely with standa rdized practice in connection with. flat-platen job-presses. Further objects of my'invention are to provlde means for keeping the" bed and platen 1n register during the impression per od, and means for supporting the platen yleldlngly' toauto matically equalize the printing pressure over the entire platen-face and reduce to a minimum ad ustment of position of the platen and the use of overlays and, make-ready in securing a uniform printed impression.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 IS a side V ew of a press embodying my invention, F1g. 2 is a vertical section intermediate the side-frames,'Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section 1n an irregular plane behind the platen, indicated by the line 3-3 of Fig. l, Flg. 4 1s a section through the axes of the platen or rocker-shaft and the camshaft,'indicated by the line 4-4i of Fig'. 1, F gs. 5, 6 and 7 are diagrammatic vertical sectional views showing the relations of the bed and platen at different: parts of the impression period, Fig. 8 is a detail vertical section of the regrstenrack and segment, jF1g.'9 Isa detail transverse section of the between them, and the upper front portions are connected by the lower feed-table 14;. The drive'shaft 15 extends transversely through the central parts of the side-frames, being suitably journaled therein. Said shaft has at one end tight and loose drivepulleys 16 and 17 and at the other end has a flywheel 18, as shown in Fig. 3. Pinions 19 are secured on the drive-shaft adjoining the outer sides of the frame, and said pinions mesh with and drive large gears 20 which arecarriedon the ends of the camshaft 21. The camshaft is journaled in the frame, above, in front of, and parallel with the drive-shaft, as shown. Slightly above and behind the bearings for the camshaft, bearings are formed in the frame for the rocker-shaft 22. Said shaft is in two parts which are rigidly connected and held in alinement with each other by the rocker 23, as shown in Fig. 4, the rocker being cut awayat the center between the adjacent ends of the shaft-portions, to provide clearance Specification of Letters Patent. P t t v; 1920. y

shaft 21.

The platen 28 is carried upon the rocker 23, being connected therewith by four yieldable ad usting-screwsof the detailed structure shown in Fig. 10. Referring to said figure, lugs on the rocker are each provided with an .opening for receiving slidably but non-rotatively the squared shank 29 of a stud which is threaded at its lower end to receive a castle-nut 30. At its upper side the rocker-lug is counterbored around the stud-shank to receive a spring 31 which bears a ainst an integral collar 32 on the stud. aid spring is held under a constant compression by means of the nut 30, which .is cottered to the stud after the compression of the spring has been adjusted as desired. Above the collar 32 the stud has a threaded portion '33 on which is screwed a locknut 34 and a sleeve 35. Said sleeve is threaded externally and is screwed into a threaded socket therefor in the foot-portions of the platen. The external thread of the sleeve 35 is different in pitch from the internal thread, so that when the sleeve is turned. upon the stud and within the socket of the platen, the platen is raised or lowered relatively to the rocker according to the differential of the two threads. The tympanface of the platen is curved or cylindro-segmental in form, and tympan-bails 36 of the usual construction are provided at the front and rear edges of the platen for stretching and holding the tympan-sheets upon said face. At the ends of the curved face of the platen there are strips or raised portions 37 projecting slightly beyond the intermediate portions of the face, to. form bearers for engagement with corresponding portions of the bed, which will be hereinafter referred to. Near the ends of the platen, on the lower side and at the rear edge thereof, are secured bearings 38 for the gripper-bar 39. which is longitudinally channeled to receive the hooked ends of the grippers 40. and slotted to receive the bolts 41 by which the grippers are held in longitudinally adjusted relation to the bar. The grippers 40 are curved to conform with the tympan-face of the-platen, and'a spring 42 is connected with the gripper-bar, as shown inFig. 1, and tends to rotate'the bar so as to move the grippers away from the tympan-face. At one end of the gripper-bar there is an arm 43 carrying a roller 44 which engages a fixed cam or track 45 secured to the side-frame 12,

said cam-track being formed so as to control opening and closing movement of the grippers during oscillatory movements of the laten.

hile the relation of the platen to the rocker 23 and rocker-shaft 22 may be slightly varied by means of the adjustingscrew sleeves 35 and studs 33, the general re lation of said parts is such that the axis of curvature of the platen face is parallel with the axis of the rocker-shaft, but so that said axes are not coincident. In fact the radius of curvature of the platen face is preferably three or more times the distance from the axis of the rocker-shaft to that point of the platen face which is nearest to said shaftaxis, or, considered in another way, the axis about which the platen oscillates is eccentric to the axis of curvature of the platen face, the eccentricity being preferably threefourths or more of the radius of curvature.

In the lower portion of the frame-members 11 and 12 there is oscillatably mounted a transversely extending shaft 46, said shaft carrying at the ends thereof arms 47 which extend upwardly and rearwardly therefrom, and the ends of said arms being connected by the transverse bed-fulcrum shaft 48. The leg-portions 49 of the .bed 50 are pivotally mounted on said shaft 48 so that the bed is supported therefrom. On the intermediate portion of the bottom-shaft 46 there is secured a lever having a short rearwardly extending arm 51, and a long upwardly and forwardly extending arm 52. To the end of the arm 51 there is pivotally connected a rod 53 which extends up through a portion of the cross-frame 13, the upper end of said rod being threaded to receive nuts 54, beneath which is a spring-seat 55. Between said spring-seat and the part of the crossframe through which the rod passes, there is disposed around the rod a coil spring 56 which is of'such proportions and is held under such compression as to counterbalance most of the weight of the bed, exerted downwardly upon the arms 47 and tending to rotate the bottom-shaft in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2. The arm 52 carries at its upper end a roller 57 which engages the cam 24 on the shaft 21. said cam. through the described connections. controlling certain up and down movements of the bed.

At the upper front portion of the bed there is provided a seat of the usual form for holding removably the chase 58 in which the printing form is placed and locked in the usual way before the chase is inserted in the press. In the upper rearward portion of the bed there are formed bearings for the back-shaft 59 which extends transversely through the same. The ends of the backshaft have slightly eccentric reduced portions to which are pivotally connected the I crank-pins 61 extending rear ends of the side-arms 60, the forward ends of said arms being connected with aterally from the drive-gears 20, so that by rotation of said gears the bed is oscillated about, the axis of its fulcrum-shaft 48.

Roller-frames 62 are mounted ,pivotally upon the back-shaft 59 between the sidearms and the shaft-bearings, and the rear ends of said roller-frames are connected to each other by a cross-plate 63. ()ne of the roller-frames has a laterally. projecting wrist-pin 64, said pin having pivotal con-, nection with an arm 65 which is extended forward and pivotally connected with the frame-member 12, so that the roller-frames are oscillated about the back-shaft during the back and forth movements of the bed. The ink-distributing form-rollers 66 are connected with the roller-frames in the usual way by means of saddles 67 which engage the end-portions of the roller-shafts and are carried by saddle-rods'GS, the latter being 'slidably held in the frames and provided with retracting-springs 69. The inkrollersalso have the usual metal disks or trucks near the ends thereof for engaging the tracks or bearer-strips at the, sides of the bed, which prevent excessive pressure of the rollers upon the form, and guide the rollers while the same traverse the space between the upper portion ofthe form and the lower portionof the rotary in-table or disk 7L Said disk 71 is mounted upon a bracket 72 carried on the rearward upper portion of the bed, and is arranged to be intermittently actuated by means of a pawl 73 engaging ratchet-teeth formed on the rearward side of the disk, the pawl being carried by an angle-lever 74: mounted on the side of the bracket 72 and having a rearwardly extending portion which is-actuated by one of the roller-frames during the oscillation thereof about the back-shaft 59.

To the intermediate portion of the backshaft 59 there is secured a short crank-arm 75, from which a connecting-rod 76 extends downwardly to an angle-lever or bell-crank 77 which is pivoted on a shaft 8 extending transversely between the legs 49 of the bed. One arm of the'angle-lever T7 is slotted to receive a roller carried by a pin 79 which projects laterally from the side of a quadrant-arm 80, said arm being secured on the intermediate portion of the throw-off shaft 81 which extends parallel with the shaft 78 V reached by the ress-feeder. The lower end of the throw-o lever is positioned normally adjacent to the. end of the bottom-shaft 46, and the connecting-rod 83 extends substantially parallel with the bed-supporting movements ofi t h'e bed said connecting-rod swings with the arms 47 and no movement is imparted to the throw-off shaft 81. By moving the handle of the lever 84 rearwardly the shaft 81 may be turned a uarter-' revolution, the rotation of said sha t being limited by engagement of the hooked ends of the quadrant-arm 80 with the shaft 78. By movement of the quadrant-arm between the permitted extremes, the slotted anglelever 77 is also given a quarter-turn about the shaft 78, and'at each limit-of movement the roller on the pin 79 is in such a position as to prevent actuating of the arm 80 from said lever 77. The described movements of the angle-lever 77, being communicated by the connecting-rod 7 6 to the crankJfi, cause rotation of the back-shaft 59, and thereby change the relation of the bed to the sidearms 60 with which the eccentric end-pen arms 47, so that during the up and down tions of-the back-shaft are connected. The mechanlsm 1s, of course, proportioned so that the printing form will be brought into operative relation with the platen when the press is running with the throw-cit lever in normal position, and so that when said lever crank-pins til, from which the principal movement of the bed is derived, that as the bed approaches its forward limit of movement the lower edges of the printing-form and platen will meet as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 5. As the forward movement of the bed continues, the curved face of the platen rolls over the form until, at the forward limit of movement of the bed, the form is engaged with the central or intermediate portion of the platen face, which is nearest the axis of the rochenshaft 22. Said intermediate position of the parts is represented in Fig. 6. The rolling movement of the platen being. continued as the bed begins to recede, the upper portion of the platen face comes into engagement with the form, so that at the end of the impression-period the parts are in the relative positions indicated in Fig. 7, From the latter position the rearward movement of the bed continues so that the form and platen are separated, the platen swings up to the feeding position and the grippers are raised as shown in Fig. 1, the form is inked by the passage of the ink-rollers over the face thereof, and the press-feeder removes the printed sheet and places a fresh sheet on the platen, so that the entire sequence of operations' is substantially identical with that in connection with the ordinary flat-platen 'ob-presses. During the impression-period,

owever, owing to the downward rolling movement of the platen, it is necessary that the bed have a certain movement downward tangentially of the platen face, in addition to 1ts principal or oscillating movement, in order that the printing form and the platen shall be in proper register during the entire impression or printing-period. Said downward movement of the bed is controlled by the cam 24, acting through the described connections from the roller 57 to ment of the bed tangentially of the platen face is comparatively slight proportionally to the width of the sheet which may be printed. Comparing the operation with that in an ordinary cylinder press, wherein the axes of rotation and of curvature are coincident, it will be seen that in such a 7 press there must be a movement of the bed in a direction tangential to the cylinder equal at least to the width of the sheet printed; whereas in a press constructed in accordance with my invention, and proportioned as illustrated in the drawings, the tangen- .tial movement of the bed is approximately only one-third the width of the sheet which may be printed. Moreover, the impression is made without interruption of the oscillatory movement of the bed about its fulcrumshaft, and said oscillatory movement is the simple, continuous, harmonic movement imparted to a member actuated by a crank rotating at uniform speed.

For insuring perfect register of the platen and form during the impression, one or both. of the bearer-strips 37 at the ends of the platen may be provided with a register-segment formed by pins 86 set therein as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the protruding portions of said. pins being of approximately truncoconical form, and adapted to rollinto and out of holes 87 in the bed-bearers or rollertracks 70. The pitch-lines of the described parts, considered. as a gear-segment and rack, are coincident with the contacting surfaces of the bearers, the projecting portions of the pins 86 corresponding to the addendum portion of gear-teeth, and the parts between the holes 87 corresponding to the dedendum portion of rack-teeth. This particular con- 1,seo,oos

struction is desirable in order that the tracks maybe kept smooth for the passage of the ink-roller trucks.

While the spring 56 may be so proportioned and adjusted as to completely counterbalance the weight of the bed, when the latter is at its lower limit of movement and the spring under its greatest compression, it is desirable to provide means for counteracting the momentum of the bed accumu lated during its downward movement when the press is running at high speed. Such means is afforded by a buffer-cylinder 88. which is pivoted on a shaft 89 extending transversely of the frame at the lower rearward part thereof. A piston 90, working in said cylinder, has a piston-rod 91 which is pivotally connected with the bed-fulcrum shaft 48, and an adjustable vent-valve 92 is provided at the lower end of the cylinder for controlling the escape of air therefrom. It will be seen that'the resistance offered by the air-cushion formed in the cylinder beneath the piston will vary automaticallyaccording to the rate at which the bed moves downwardly, and that the device may be so adjusted as to substantially counteract the momentum of the bed at all speeds.

Special attention is directed to the yieldable adjusting means by which the platen is connected with the rocker. The springs 31 are held under a predetermined initial compression equal to the desired normal pressure to be exerted by the bed against the platen, and should said normal pressure be exceeded the platen will then yield and be pushed in toward the rocker to whatever extent may be necessary. Thus the relation of the platen and rocker may be readily so adjusted that the platen and bed bearerstrips 37 and 70 will remain in contact throughout the making of the impression, without liability of causing binding or strain of the actuating mechanism by excessive pressure between said bearers.

It will be apparent, of course, that in the described press there is combined, with the convenience and simplicity of the ordinary flat-platen job-press, substantially all of the'advantages, as to speed of operation and superior quality of printing due to a rolling impression, heretofore found only in cylinder presses.

Now, having. described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a printing press of the described class, a platen having a curved face and mounted to oscillate about a fixed axis eccentric to the axis of curvature of said face and lying within the angle between radii extending from said axis of curvature to the longitudinal edges of the curved face.

Ill

2. In a printing press of the described class, a platen having a curved face, andmeans for oscillating said platen about a fixed axis located intermediate said curved face and the axis of curvature thereof.

3. In a printing press of the described class, a continuously movable oscillating bed, and a curved platen cooperating therewith, said platen oscillating about a fixed axis and having a radius of curvature such as to roll upon the bed during approach of the bed toward and recession thereof from said fixed axis of oscillation of the platen.

4. In a printing press of the described class, a platen having a curved face and mounted to oscillate about a fixed axis, a pivotally mounted bed, means for oscillating the same about said pivot to alternately ap proach and recede from the platen-ax1s, means for moving the platen about said fixed axis to roll upon the bed during said oscillating movement thereof, and means controlling movement of the bed tangentially of the platen-face during the rolling thereof upon the bed.

5. In a printing press of the described class, a pivotally mounted bed, a drive-shaft provided with cranks, connecting-rods between saidcranks and the bed for oscillating the latterabout its pivot, a curved platen mounted on an axisintermediate the bed and the drive-shaft, means actuated by the dri veshaft for oscillating said platen about said axis, the curved face of the platen being eccentric to said axis whereby the contact with the bed during a continued portion of the oscillating movement, and means actuated by the drive-shaft and controlling movement of the bed pivot to traverse the bed tangentially of the platen during its contact therewith.

6. In a printing press of the described class,- a movable bed-fulcrum, a bed carried thereon, means for oscillating the bed harmonically about said fulcrum, a platen mounted upon a fixed axis and having a curved face adapted to roll upon the bed during a continued portion of its oscillation about said fulcrum, means for actuating the platen, and means for moving the bed-fulcrum to maintain the bed and platen in register during the rolling contact of the latter with the bed.

7. In a printing press of the described class, the combination with an oscillating platen, of a bed movable reciprocatingly from and toward the axis of oscillation of the platen, said platen having a curved face adapted to engage the bed during acontinued portion of its approach and recession relative to said axis, and means for traversing the bed tangentially of the platen face during its contact therewith.

8. In a printing press of the described class, a platen having a curved working face and mounted for oscillation about an axis eccentric to the axis of curvature of said face, a flat bed mounted pivotally, means for oscillating the platen, means for moving the bed about its plvot, and means for movclass, a bed provided with means for hold--" in 'a flat printing-form, means for moving said bed reciprocatingly in a direction substantially perpendicular to the face of the printing-form, means for moving the. bed limitedly in a direction substantially parallel with the face of the printing-form, a platen having a curved working-face, and means for oscillating said platen to roll said face "over the face of the printing-form during continued portions of the movement of the .10. In a printing press of the described bedin. both directions.

class, a bed provided with means for holding a fiat printing-form, a platen having a curved working face and mounted to oscillate about. an axis adjacent to said working face and distant from the axis of curvature of said face, means for actuating the bed" principally in a direction perpendicular to the face of the printing-form to thereby approach and recede from the axis of oscillation of the platen, means for oscillating the platen about said axis to roll the curved working-face upon the face of the printingform during proximity of the latter thereto, and means for maintaining register of said faces of the platen and printing-form during contact thereof.

11. In a printing press of the described class, an oscillating platen having a curved working-face, a movable bed provided with means for holding a flat printing-form, means for moving said bed toward and from the platen, means for actuating the platen to roll the working-face thereof upon the proximity thereto, means for" moving the bed to maintain register of the printing-v form and platen while the latter rolls upon said form, and means movable between the bed and platen for inking the form.

12. In a printing press having an oscillat ing platen and an oscillating bed provided with form -ho1ding 'means, said bed and platen each movable about their respective .axes of oscillation to bring the form and working face of the platen into proximity, a back-shaft carried by the bed, actuating means for the bed connected with said shaft, throw-oil mechanism for rotating the backshaft to vary the relation of the bed and actuating means, and a locking device for said throw-off mechanism carried wholly upon the bed and movable bodily therewith.

13. In a printing press, apivotally mounted bed provided with form-holding means,

a platen having a curved working-face and mounted upon an axis extending intermediate said working-face and the axis of curvature thereof, actuating means for moving the bed and platen reciprocatingly about 'tween the bed and platen, gripper mechanism carried upon the platen, and means for actuating said ripper mechanism to close upon the worklng-face of the platen and retain a. sheet thereon as the. same and the form move into proximity.

14. In a printing press of the described class, an oscillating bed provided with formholding means, a frame, a rocker-shaft journaled therein, a rocker carried by said shaft, a platen having a curved working-face and mounted upon said rocker so that the axis of curvature of said working-face is substantially parallel'with the rocker-shaft, means for oscillating the rocker-shaft to roll the working-face of the platen upon a form carried upon the bed, and yielding means connecting the rocker and platen for the purpose described.

15. In a printing press of the described class having'a bed adapted to support a printing-form, and a platen for engagement with said printing-form, means for relatively moving the platen and bed between a contacting impression position and a separatedinking and feeding position, a member on which the platen is carried, adjusting-screws connecting said member and the platen, and means in connection with said adjusting-screws yieldable under pressure in excess of a predetermined amount to limit the pressure between the platen and bed at the impression position.

16. In a printing press of the described tween a contacting impression position and a separated feeding and inking position, inkin mechanism carried upon the bed and mova Le across the printing-form between the same and the platen during the separation of the bed and platen, and means controlling movement of the bed tangentially of the working-face of the platen at the impression position, whereby to maintain register of the printing-form and platen during the impression.

17. In a printing press of the described class, a bed supporting a flat printing-form, a platen having a cylindro-segmental working-face, means for mounting the platen oscillatably upon a fixed axis passing intermediate the working-face and the axis of curvature of said face, means for actuating the bed to move the printing-form in a direction substantially radial to the axis of oscillation of the platen and perpendicular to the face of the printing-form, means for moving the platen about its axis of oscillation unidirectionally during portions of the movement of the bed both toward and from said axis, whereby to produce a rolling contact of the working face of the platen with the face of the printing-form, in which the line of contact between said faces moves across a plane extending perpendicular to the face of the form and through the axis of oscillation of the platen, and means for controlling movement of the bed tangentially of the Working-face of the platen to maintain register vtherewith during the rolling contact of the faces.

. E. T. WATERS. 

